We now have things like iTunes, amazon.com, and television shopping networks that all allow us to get the things we want whenever we want them. We also have easy access to credit cards which allow us to get whatever we want even if we don't have the money to pay for it right now.
Since it has become so easy for Americans to easily replace or purchase new items, I believe we have also developed an attitude where as soon as something isn't working perfectly we abandon it or discard it for something that will live up to our expectations.
This summer my cell phone started malfunctioning slightly and the battery would die a little faster than normal. I took it in to my cell phone provider and asked if they could fix it. I figured I wouldn't be able to do anything about it because I don't know how to fix cell phones or any other electronic device for that matter. I was told that the only thing they could really do was sell me a new battery and see if that might help or I could buy a new phone. No matter which choice I went with, it was going to cost me more money. At that point I decided to buy the new battery since it would cost less immediately. The problem persisted. I realized that if it really was an issue I could just carry my charger around with me and whenever it started to die I could recharge my phone. I did this for a few days and got annoyed. Finally I gave in and just bought a new phone.
This experiance showed me how easy it has become for me to personally rationalize the "need" for new things.
As I have been thinking about this attitude recently I have realized that many of us carry the thought of disposabillity into other aspects of our lives that aren't traditionally thought of as consumer. One area that I noticed the tendency to discard things that aren't working is with relationshps. It has become much easier to say that if something isn't working out exactally the way that we want it to, we are just going to stop being friends or that there isn't anything that we can do. There are many negative consequences that come along with this action that range from developing a lack of social skills to not being able to network at all.
My question for you is, what is a "non-traditional" product that we as Americans consume? We may or may not have this attitude that whatever it is might be disposable but I think it's important to understand our consumer tendencies no only with consumer goods and services but in other aspects of our lives. Once we can see and understand these tendencies we can make changes that are appropriate and it will help us to understand how others in the world around us consume.
33 comments:
When you grow up in a world that teaches you to "buy what you want and when you want it" you develop these same attitudes yourself. I don't come from a rich family, but we still always kept the A/C at 69, we ate out often and really bought a lot of things that we didn't need. This is just the attitude of America. Other countries have the attitude that they have never been able to live like Americans and thus their attitudes towards consumerism is very different.
I sat on a plane for over 30 hours next to a young girl of about 5 years and her mother. The little girl wanted to watch TV but the plane cannot have turn the TV'S on while in taxi and take off and the TV only comes on once the plane has reached a safe cruising altitude. The little American girl threw a fit, about this and everything else that didn't go her way, she must have said about 500 times, "mommy, just fix it!" By the end of the journey I felt like fixing her- in some cruel way!" But it just proved to me the culture of " I want what I want when I want it!" Here the mother is thinking she is providing for her child and being the best mother possible... little does she know she is perpetuating a harmful American stereotype, and worse- she is giving her child things which will fall into a bottomless pit as the child matures, she will constantly want more and more and more and want it now, now, now!
I agree that this "replace it" mentality is sad. I have absoultely no handi-man skills myself because of my perpetuation to simply "buy a new one." I did get this mentality from my parents, though. I must have picked it up from the steady stream of media and advertising that I have been hooked up to in electronic I.V. since I was a kid.
It is sad how quick we are to replace things that aren't working properly. I think, to an extent, this attitude extends to our personal lives with friends, school, family, etc.. Sometimes we just want to take the easy way out. I believe that we should discipline ourselves in our purchases and develop a more healthy outlook in that regard. We should try to fix things ourselves instead of give-in and give-up on things so easily. However, it's just so easy to replace something when the newest model comes out!!
Speaking of consumerism... I am reminded of Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9obgyYB1IU&feature=related
She wants an Umpa Lumpa and she wants it now! Her selfish attitude reflects not only the youth of America, but people of all ages. We are all guilty of enjoying the luxuries of living in the US. However, before we complain about the country's obsessive "needy" consumer attitude, we must ask ourselves if we would want it any other way. These are just some of the reasons why I love living in America- freedom, opportunities, and easy accessibility to the things I "need".
I think that the weirdest product evolution in our society is apparent in the abundance of non-tangible things you can buy. For example, music from itunes, memberships to Netflix, online textbooks, etc. Yes you can burn songs onto cds, or you can just put them on your ipod and hook up your ipod in your car. There are more and more things we accumulate that almost become devalued because they aren't a physical entity that we add to our consumer stash.
I think the problem we face with 'disposability' within America is the notion that there is always something better to be had.
Yes I have a car, I have a phone, etc., but every advertisement or signal I receive from society is telling me that there is a better car out there or a better phone, and that I need it in order to be cool.
It is a matter of status, and that is why society feels that it needs to throw things away in order to get better things. Take for example, the iPhone. Having an iPhone isn't a necessity, but think of how cool you would feel to have a phone that is bigger and better than everyone else's.
Have you ever heard the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" If you have it was probably by someone much older than you.
My grandpa can and does fix everything, my mom can't fix anything, but pays someone to fix it rather than buy a new something. And I just buy a new something because I figure, if I am going to spend money I might as well spend a little more and get something better that I will want.
It is a generational thing. We are all trained to do something, yet can't do anything practical so end up spending more money on things that aren't necesities.
I feel a little awkward about the internet.
Like Cell Phones, the internet is a necessity for us. When I last got a new apartment, it was one of the first things we set up. Almost all of my classes assume that I have easy internet access (and they are correct). It has been lumped in with electricity and water as Utilities that you just pay every month.
I don't have Cable TV in my apartment, but it is clear to me that that service is also often considered a necessity, and utility that you just pay each month.
It's hard for today's youth to understand that things can be fixed if the world never taught them that they can be. I think you're right that the world is getting more and more irreparable in certain aspects. I bought a laptop computer about 4 years ago, and last year the plug stopped working. It turned out to be a problem that would cost more to fix than buying a new computer altogether. I think this happens with a lot of things. Phones, computers, cars - we all have something we've broken slightly but could replace with something new, better and cheaper. It basically comes down to high-efficiency manufacturing (because of the low level of skill needed to press a button on a machine) and low-efficiency repairs (because of the high level of skill needed to repair something like a clock). Does this lack of skill in repairs make us even worse as a consumerist society? It certainly junks up our land fills twice as fast. But as frustrating as it can be for people who are used to getting things fixed, I think the world might be changing.
"What is a "non-traditional" product that we as Americans consume?"
I think a very non-traditional product we consume is the idea of celebrity, and celebrities themselves. Today's actors and actresses are nowhere near the actors of 20 years ago, the ones with actual staying power. The celebrities of our time are so desperate for attention and afraid of being thrown away and replaced that they do stupid stunts just to stay in the public eye. Lindsay Lohan, anyone? It's us, the American people, that ultimately chose who will be famous and who won't by our purchasing habits of their products.
I think it's interesting how we live in a society in which everyone feels entitled. I think your question is a good one. It makes me think of all the times I've been in arguments with other people... sometimes we're so used to having everything right at our fingertips (easily consumable and ours) that when certain things aren't....let's say like in an argument, we get so flustered and worked up.
I think the urge for needing the latest thing "right this instant" has gotten insane. Children today are being raised like that little girl on the plane everywhere. I was raised to not ask for anything when I went to the store. If I asked once for something, and my parents said "no," that was the end of it. If I kept asking and asking, I would get spanked in the car. I learned my lesson really quick. Now at age 23, I don't find myself asking to purchase much. A nice thing or two now and then is nice to have, but I don't have that addiction to constantly buying new versions of things all the time. It must be nice to have the latest Wii or iPod or whatever, but if you don't have it, it's not like it's the end of the world. There is more to life than "stuff."
It's so much easier and immediate to buy a replacement than to fumble a self-repair. I've encountered this mentality often myself. I prefer to have the "best" of everything; which leads to more purchasing. If something's broken or outdated, it's time for a replacement. For me it's been more convenient to buy new, rather than to repair or buy something used.
A friend told me once about the American life: An American is always owing something to the bank. They practically live on their credits. They buy cars on credits, they buy houses on credit, they even buy clothes and other necessities on credits, and then spend most of their life working to pay those debts off. That is not how it works in my country and I believe in many other countries as well. We actually have to earn before we buy and will postpone our purchases until we can afford them. After living here in the states for a few years, I realized that I have gotten that bad American consuming habit into me. When I got a stain on my shirt, I didn't even bother to try the bleach. Rather than going to the store for some cheaper solution, I used it as an excuse to go to the store for a little "substitute shopping" which ended up in spending more than just a few bucks it would have been in the bleaching case. So, I got this new habit, and I don't like it at all!
I completely agree that we have a tendency to buy something new before we look into fixing it. Nobody in my family is very good at fixing anything, so this has just been the way we've acted throughout my life, but I can see how that might spill out into other facets of life. I'm shocked to see so many of my friends and people my age getting divorces and I wonder if this "disposable" mentality has a lot to do with that.
I think clothing and faddish styles can be put in that category of the things we consume and throw out. We buy into these styles of clothes, spending money we may not have and buy clothes we may not need. But it is the thing to do. Then comes the change in style: while these clothes we have bought still fit, look nice we no longer wear them anymore... they are old, they are out of date... time to go shopping again! What a waste of money!
Since we live in such a fast paced society, it is hard to find time to fix things ourselves. The result: we replace the old with the new. What a waist! I think we justify this by saying we are too busy, or that we have better things to do than spend a Saturday afternoon working in the garage on an old lawn mower. Today's world has provided us with fast solutions to our every problem, in exchange for money. In order to save us time, we are more than willing to give up the dollars. But is it really that we have no time, or just the fact that we are lazy? Something to ponder I suppose...
I wonder if we could even say that this mentality comes from the conveniences of the internet. Whatever we need, we can type it into Google and there it is available to purchase from your own home. Has this convenience started to deteriorate the american work ethic? I would say in some aspects, yes. The easy access has given the consumer a low level of tolerability towards anything that is disfunctional. Lots of options has created a higher demand for quality.
I agree with you on the idea that we as a culture want what we want when we want it. I personally admit to usually getting what i want by rationalizing and coming up with reasons to buy the newest clothes or get the newest i pod. I love how you tied this into relationships. It is so true we as a generation feel entitled to have what we want, and as a result we don't often put true effort into getting things but just expect them to be handed to us.
In temporal aspects the replacement attitude is pretty impractical and expensive. I think the problem is that we're developing into a highly stratified society that focuses too much on specialization - for instance you have people who go to school to make money to buy a house that they never learned how to build or maintain - that sort of thing is "blue collar". Therefore you have two or three generations in a row without handyman skills, because they've been taught to pay someone else to do it.
that's not necessarily a bad thing, because paying other people to fix things or buying replacement products actually provides more jobs in those respective industries. furthermore, there are societies how have greater replacement mentalities (I site all of the pacific rim countries and provinces, especially Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc.)There, every couple of years you just throw your tv, dvd player, bike, etc. away in a pile on the street corner and buy a new one.
I think that this replacement attitude isn't necessarily a bad thing in real life either, people hang on to harmful relationships for longer than they should. Women stay with abusive partners, men at jobs that don't compensate them well. If it's not working and you can't fix it, replace it!
I think part of the problem with consumerism among people our age is our desire to have the same things that our parents have worked their whole lives for. For example, I live in an apartment with roommates who own a large plasma screen tv. My parents don't even have a tv this nice. The tvs we have at home still work perfectly well, so why buy a new one yet. Another roommate just got a $300+ Kitchen Aid mixer for the kitchen, something that my mom has wanted for a long time but only bought a couple of years ago. Another roommate just bought a brand new IPOD today, though she had a perfectly good one. Frankly, I feel a little spoiled living in this environment. I am not trying to judge my roommates. I have just been taught that you work your way up to getting to own things like this, through hard work. I think if our generation just stopped expecting that we deserve to have tons of nice, expensive items right now, things would be a little different.
Many valid points have been made. I like the point about non-tangible goods. In the past, people would buy stuff that you could hold, keep and eventually sell. Like old records, radios, cars... The millions of songs sold on iTunes generate a lot of money and we in turn have "ownership," but what if we want to sell it to somebody else? We can't. It's an electronic file that was licenesed to us. In a way, we spend more on our consumer habits and our equity decreases - we don't gain true ownership. I think cars must depreciate faster than before as well.
What is a non-traditional thing we consume? Information. I think some other good ones have been said. For me, I am addicted to having the world at my finger-tips. I have to pull out my iPhone all the time just to check Espn, Fox News, movie news, e-mail. I check e-mail like a drug addict, like 10 times a day... I have to know what's going on and I want the answer in seconds. I really feel Google and the information age has made me a lazy person. I sometimes wish I was born in the 1800's so I would have had a reason to get outside and learn some real skills. America has a problem with satiating instant desires, a real problem that needs to be resolved or reduced. I always want the latest and greatest thing, I have had four iPhones in less than a year (some broke...)!!
This attitude has been a very big cause of downward spiraling for some people in my family. Thinking that you have the right to always have what you want when you want results in people not knowing how to handle any sort of conflict and running away from problems rather than solving them. Divorce is so common and I think that it stems from this very problem. People are so used to this self-gratifying and easy-way-out lifestyle that they don't know how to work out conflicts and learn about loyalty... all they know is how to get themselves immediate happiness.
This may not hit the target, but I'm going to throw it out there. One "non-traditional" thing we consume as Americans (or it could just be a human being thing) is acceptance. People will go to ridiculous lengths to be accepted. I once heard a story of someone buying a sweater and taking a tag of a different, more popular brand and sewing it in, just so her daughter could be accepted in her group of friends... I mean its a tag! No one will see it, but her daughter didn't even know the difference. I also have had my mom buy me some fake Oakley sunglasses from New York just so I could look cool.
Whether it be a new car, or taking that special someone to a really expensive restaurant and tipping really well (I work at a restaurant and got tipped really really lousily today... so sorry its on my mind), people are very willing to open their wallets to consume approval.
Unfortunately, this is very true. I was watching "60 minutes" on CBS this Sunday and funny enough, Andy Rooney was talking about this very same topic. He brought a number of items from his kitchen that he had hardly used but had 2 or more kinds of the same item. In most cases, he could not remember ever using some of them for the longest time. He had a nutcracker, for example. I grew up without the "priviledge" of discarding things/items owing to the fact that they didn't seem to work any more. Maybe this could be attributed to the fact that my country has not yet established a full working credit card system, nor has it ventured into the T.V. or catalogue buys. Everything is not readinly available with the touch/click of a button. It would be interesting to see if Uganda will head in the same direction as America, once given the same opportunities.
I agree that this happens a lot in America. I see families buying new things that have broke, or hiring a handy man to fix a simple plumbing or wiring problem. I was raised to do things yourself. My dad always taught me that there's no need to go out and buy a new chair when you can take some tools and fix the existing one you have. the other week I built a desk for my new office. I did it all by myself. I could've just gone to IKEA and bought on already made, but I got the materials and did it myself. So I guess I agree with this post, but say that I try to not fall into this category.
I think most Americans have the mentailty that we should replace things when there is the littlest problem. Or even just because it is outdated, such as a old model cell phone. A lot of time with social relationships or projects we attempt I think we expect things to work out perfectly. However, some people are hard to get along with and some skills take time to learn. I think a lack of patience created by our consumer driven culture has created a this is too hard I'll just try something easier mentality.
I just experienced this type of thing. I just bought a MacBook about a month ago, and now I just saw that a new MacBook is set to come out in October. It makes me mad that I bought one right when they were coming out with a new model. I know I should be satisfied with what I have, but maybe I do have this "replace it" mentality. One thing about Batman. It reminded me about the Utah guy who left his baby in the car while he caught the midnight showing of the movie. What an Idiot!
I am one of those that say, there is always something better out there, or a new product is on the way. I agree with the attitude of just replacing things if they dont work properly. we live in a time where things are becoming so cheap and accessible that we can do that. I also believe that it keeps the cycle of progression at a new and fast rate of change.
I think the example you gave of your cell phone breaking, a perfect example of a non-traditional product which we all consume. They are very difficule to fix ourselves. The parts are very small and difficult to find in electronic stores. This is so different from Americans in previous decades. If something was broken, they simply fixed it! I think as we continue to be a consuming nation more and more we will dispose of products and not even think to fix anything anymore.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/US/Story?id=2978751&page=1
i agree with carly. take a look at this.
"you'll soon outgrow it and need an upgrade"
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